Talk:Reading to Plymouth Line
This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Reading to Plymouth Line page. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies
|
Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
Archives: 1 |
A fact from Reading to Plymouth Line appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 8 April 2008, and was viewed approximately 681 times (disclaimer) (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
|
This disambiguation page does not require a rating on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to multiple WikiProjects. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The route diagram template for this article can be found in Template:Reading to Plymouth Line diagram. |
Structure of article
[edit]Proposed merge with Cornish Main Line
|
---|
This is really a continuation of the recent discussion about splitting Great Western Main Line. In my opinion the Reading to Plymouth and Cornish sections should have been one article and I propose that they are merged with the new title Reading to Penzance Main line. My reasons being:
Geof Sheppard 07:34, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
As for the alternative (further!) splits, the last named is really just Cornish main Line renamed, so I would suggest it becomes GWML (Cornish Main Line). I would split the current GWML page (if at all) into London-Didcot and Didcot-Bristol becasue of the relief lines and suburban traffic. An alternative to Reading-Exeter (another odd combination) would be Reading-Taunton (ie the route created in 1906) and Bristol-Exeter which then matches the historical perspective. Geof Sheppard 12:40, 18 April 2007 (UTC)
Is this merger still live? Is there any consensus? Simply south (talk) 14:36, 14 April 2008 (UTC)
Please see discussion at the bottom of the page regarding the split proposal and part merger to form Bristol to Exeter Line.Grizzlyqi (talk) 20:42, 16 April 2008 (UTC) |
Route
|
---|
Hi there, I know that some work has gone into setting up this article and I don't want to start an argument on here, I would just like to post an observation though that I find "Reading to Plymouth Line" slightly misleading. It gives the impression that if you were on the main line North from Exeter and did not diverge from it, you would go to Reading. This is not the case, at Cogload Junction the line designated as "Up Main" continues to Bristol, the route to Reading (Berks and Hants) at this junction is the diverging route, as indicated by a "feather" at the signal before the junction and trains have to slow down to leave the "Up Main" and join the "Up Athelney" line. The Bristol to Taunton Line article also gives the impression that the line from Taunton to Bristol is just a link for 2 main lines when the case is that the Berks and Hants is more the link. I would say the articles should be Bristol to Exeter Line, Reading to Taunton Line or Berks and Hants Line and Exeter to Plymouth Line or South Devon Main Line. LindsayL 14:10, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
|
Proposed split into 3 articles
|
---|
The proposal is to split the article into Reading to Taunton Line, Exeter to Plymouth Line and Bristol to Exeter Line which would include a merger of Bristol to Taunton Line with the Taunton-Exeter sections in this article. The main advantages for this are; 1) The three articles would more accurately represent the history of the lines in question. This article includes the Berks and Hants Railway as well as only a small section of the Bristol and Exeter Railway and the South Devon Railway. Three articles concerning the modern day equivalents of these railways would be a better basis for the articles than the arbitrary cut-offs that are currently employed. 2)The three articles would more accurately tie-in with other articles. For example, the article Disused railway stations (Bristol to Exeter Line) would cover all closed stations from a single article instead of the one and a quarter that it currently does. 3)The articles will more accurately mirror current services, this especially applies to CrossCountry services that only operate between Bristol and Plymouth and South West Trains that only operate between Exeter and Plymouth. Please add your support or criticisms for the proposal.Grizzlyqi (talk) 21:01, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
|
After several years of discussion the consensus was to split the Reading to Plymouth Line article into three articles - Bristol to Exeter line, Reading to Taunton line, and Exeter to Plymouth line. The split has now been done, though fairly crudely as I am not an expert on the subject. It will need an expert eye to look at it and smooth out the edges. SilkTork *YES! 15:18, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
- I don't agree that what is left is a disambiguation page. The phrase "Reading to Plymouth Line" would not properly "refer to" any one of the three shorter lines listed on the page, but only to the combination of all three of them. The phrase is not ambiguous; it refers to exactly one rail line, which apparently consists of three segments. (Although, if you want to get technical, someone looking for "Reading to Plymouth" probably is thinking of a line that goes from Reading to Plymouth, not for a line that branches off somewhere in the middle....) If someone searches for the "Reading to Plymouth Line" (or clicks on one of the many links to that term from other Wikipedia articles) there is no article that gives them the information they are looking for. Perhaps summary style would be a better solution than this unsatisfactory attempt at disambiguation. --R'n'B (call me Russ) 22:03, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
- Yes, it's not a disambiguation situation. I think a summary would be the proper thing. And someone needs to go through the incoming links to see which could profitably be changed to link to one of the new articles. DuncanHill (talk) 01:06, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
- Agreed. This result is not an appropriate use of the disambiguation system. bd2412 T 18:35, 19 February 2011 (UTC)
- Reading to Plymouth line seems to be a term invented by wikipedia, there is no refrence to such a line in the Engineer's line references or any track diagrams. Is this disambiguation page even needed? Bristol to Exeter, Exeter to Plymouth are both sections of the Great Western Main Line so links to these articles could be included in this page could either be deleted or redirected to Great Western Main Line. ZoeL (talk) 04:58, 21 February 2011 (UTC)
- "Great Western Main Line" primarily refers to the original route between Paddington and Bristol via Didcot, Swindon and Bath. Indeed, the engineer's line reference "MLN" is described simply as "Main Line", and follows that route exactly, continuing beyond Bristol via Taunton, Exeter, Newton Abbot and Plymouth to Penzance, so is only relevant to the route under discussion east of Reading West Junction, and west of Cogload Junction. Between those points, there are several different engineer's line refs:
- BKE [Basingstoke Branch] (part) - Reading West Junction to Southcote Junction
- BHL [Berks and Hants Line] (all) - Southcote Jn to Patney & Westbury Junction
- SWY [Stert & Westbury Line] (part) - Patney & Westbury Jn to Heywood Road Junction
- WES [Westbury Avoiding Line] (all) - Heywood Road Jn to Fairwood Junction
- WEY [Weymouth Branch] (part) - Fairwood Jn to Clink Road Junction
- FRA [Frome Avoiding Line] (all) - Clink Road Jn to Blatchbridge Junction
- WEY - Blatchbridge Jn to Castle Cary Junction
- CCL [Castle Cary & Langport Line] (all) - Castle Cary Jn to Cogload Junction
- Therefore I don't think that we can either split or combine on the grounds of Engineer's Line References. --Redrose64 (talk) 19:45, 21 February 2011 (UTC)
- Great Western Main Line also refers to the entire line from Paddington to Penzance via Bristol. Indeed this was the way the GWR saw it and most mileages on other lines were derrived from this line. In theory one Great Western Main Line article could cover all of this route but as you say above this doesn't include the Berks and Hants route via Westbury. The question is though if this article is needed at all? Yes there are trains that run from Reading to Plymouth but I believe these articles are about lines, not individual train routes. Details of train services should be in First Great Western ZoeL (talk) 07:29, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
Route sections as first opened
[edit]The Reading to Plymouth line was built in sections. The line west of Cogload Junction (just east of Taunton) was completed between 1842 and 1849, and this can be seen to have been planned as a single route, although two different companies were involved (the Bristol & Exeter Railway and the South Devon Railway). East of Cogload Jc however, the route comprises portions of several cross-country routes, with connecting (cut-off) lines at strategic points. The major sections between Reading and Athelney opened between 1847 and 1862, the cut-off lines (three odd bits between Patney and Taunton) were brought into use during 1900 and 1905-06, and there were two more small sections in 1933 which did not shorten the route but did allow higher speeds. From east to west, these lines are:
- Reading-Hungerford: Berks & Hants Railway, opened 21 Dec 1847 (absorbed by GWR prior to opening) (MacDermot 1927, p. 858)
- Hungerford-Patney-(Devizes): Berks & Hants Extension Rly, opd. 11 Nov 1862 (MacDermot 1927, p. 862)
- Patney-Westbury: opd. 1 Oct 1900 (MacDermot 1931, p. 609)
- Westbury avoiding line: GWR, opd. March 1933 (Nock 1967, p. 90)
- Westbury-Frome: Wilts, Somerset & Weymouth Rly, opd. 7 Oct 1850 (MacDermot 1927, p. 859)
- Frome avoiding line: GWR, opd. March 1933 (Nock 1967, p. 90)
- Frome-Castle Cary-(Yeovil): WS&WR, 1 Sep 1856 (MacDermot 1927, p. 860)
- Castle Cary-Charlton Mackrell: GWR, opd. 1 July 1905 (MacDermot 1931, p. 610)
- Charlton Mackrell-Curry Rivell Junction: GWR, 2 Jul 1906 (MacDermot 1931, p. 611)
- (Yeovil Hendford)-Curry Rivell Junction-Athelney Junction-(Dunston): Bristol & Exeter Railway, opd 1 Oct 1853 (MacDermot 1931, p. 617)
- Athelney Junction-Cogload Junction: GWR, opd. 2 Jul 1906 (MacDermot 1931, p. 611)
- (Bridgwater)-Cogload Junc-Taunton: Bristol & Exeter Railway, opd 1 Jul 1842 (MacDermot 1927, p. 857)(MacDermot 1931, p. 617)
- Taunton-Beambridge: B&ER, 1 May 1843 (MacDermot 1927, p. 857)(MacDermot 1931, p. 617)
- Beambridge-Exeter: B&ER, 1 May 1844 (MacDermot 1927, p. 858)(MacDermot 1931, p. 617)
- Exeter-Teignmouth: South Devon Railway, 30 May 1846 (MacDermot 1931, p. 619)
- Teignmouth-Newton Abbot: SDR, 30 Dec 1846 (MacDermot 1931, p. 619)
- Newton Abbot-Totnes: SDR, 20 Jul 1847 (MacDermot 1931, p. 619)
- Totnes-Laira Green:SDR, 5 May 1848 (MacDermot 1931, p. 619)
- Laira Green-Plymouth North Road-(Plymouth Millbay): SDR, 2 Apr 1849 (MacDermot 1931, p. 620)
- MacDermot, E.T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833-1863. Paddington: Great Western Railway.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - MacDermot, E.T. (1931). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. II: 1863-1921. Paddington: Great Western Railway.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - Nock, O.S. (1967). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. 3: 1923-1947. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0 7110 0304 1.
{{cite book}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help)
--Redrose64 (talk) 15:08, 20 February 2011 (UTC)
- There isn't actually a line called Reading to Plymouth line. Reading to Plymouth is simply a train service. ZoeL (talk) 05:01, 21 February 2011 (UTC)
- I didn't intend to imply that it was so named. For "The Reading to Plymouth line was built in sections", read "The line between Reading and Plymouth was built in sections". I merely used the former term because that's what the Wikipedia page has been named. --Redrose64 (talk) 18:45, 21 February 2011 (UTC)
- Wikipedia Did you know articles
- Disambig-Class rail transport articles
- NA-importance rail transport articles
- Disambig-Class UK Railways articles
- NA-importance UK Railways articles
- All WikiProject Trains pages
- Disambig-Class Devon articles
- NA-importance Devon articles
- WikiProject Devon articles
- NA-Class Wiltshire articles
- NA-importance Wiltshire articles
- WikiProject Disambiguation pages